A Conversation With Geronimo Lopez, Nao

Updated 2:46 am, Saturday, June 9, 2012

Geronimo Lopez, a native of Venezuela, is head of the kitchen of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio’s second restaurant, Nao.

Geronimo Lopez, a native of Venezuela, is head of the kitchen of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio’s second restaurant, Nao.

A Conversation With Geronimo Lopez, Nao

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Executive chef Geronimo Lopez asks people to bring an open mind and an adventurous palate when visiting Nao.

Lopez, a native of Venezuela, is head of the kitchen of Nao, the second restaurant of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio. Nao, pronounced nay-oh by the staff, is “derived from the Latin root ‘neo,' meaning to weave or intertwine, as well as the English root meaning something new,” says Stephan Hengst, CIA marketing director. Nao gives students of the newly minted Latin Cuisines Certificate Program (LCCP) restaurant experience and accommodates guest chefs as well.

Nearly half the restaurant is kitchen space, suited for 10 to 15 students and a professional cooking staff of seven. Since it's in its soft opening phase, Nao features a prix fixe menu with 24 plates, including aguachile ceviche from Mexico, octopus mojo isleño and an Argentine hanger steak chimichurri.

Lopez sat down to talk about what the restaurant will offer curious gourmands, and the amount of work that's gone into opening Nao.

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We wanted something to embody what we're going to do in the long term. There's going to be so many things happening at the restaurant, we didn't want to (limit) ourselves as just a Latin restaurant. That word helps put in everything we're going to have.

What's been your background so far?

More Information

Nao

312 Pearl Parkway

210-554-6484;

naorestaurant.com

Nao is open for dinner only

5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; there are plans to open for lunch in January.

I've been cooking for 20 years now. I'm 37 years old. I went to culinary school in France. After that, I started working in Latin America back in my home country of Venezuela. Then I joined the Four Seasons and for the last 10 years, I was working at Four Seasons around the world. I did a lot of traveling with that. Always, through my kitchen, there's been a Latin influence in what I do. So when this opportunity arrived for me to take over this project, I felt it clicked. I always wanted to do this type of cuisine. I do know people are very interested in knowing our flavors, but they're not out there for people to reach. In the last five, six years, there's been a global interest in what Latin America has to offer and this is a great portrait of that as a consequence and as a beginning for this movement.

How are you liking San Antonio?

I'm loving it. I think it's the right size, not too big, not too small. It has a very interesting cultural life and from what I can see so far, it has a population that is very interested in the culinary arts and what's going on in the culinary world. So far, I feel very welcome in all senses.

What's the menu planning been like?

The menu comes as a part of the LCCP program, so the program itself is going to cover all of Latin American and the menu needs to reflect a little bit of that. The menu will change a lot.

How often?

We will have a fixed menu that will consist of 24 to 26 plates. We will also have a weekly menu. And when we have guest chefs, we will feature their menu as a special. The fixed menu itself will change two to three times a year, depending on product and availability. We do want to keep the menu fresh and updated every week for the practice of our students and the training.

What are some hits so far?

The octopus has been a hit. It's quite a simple technique of sous viding the octopus, which makes it tender and then putting it on the wood grill we have, which gives it a great flavor. This plate came off a long line. Every plate has been redone at least three to four times to get where we are now. They'll continue to evolve. That's the philosophy behind it. We are in an ever-evolving menu, where we'll try different techniques and applications from Latin America to a great product to bring it to life.

What are some items people have been surprised by?

I think having me here since March, and the experience of the other chefs that work at the CIA, has helped us understand how to translate the flavors of Latin America to our audience. We have had unconditional support from the other instructors. From people, I think they've been adventurous enough to taste our food without prejudice. That's basically all we need: for people to come in and open their taste buds and their palates. Latin America itself, even though it's very different and large, when it comes down to it, the combination of salty, spicy and sweet, is a combination San Antonians are used to already. There's nothing absolutely new to them.